Toss game simulating bowling



Feb. 28, 1:96? o. F. TACK 3,306,615

TOSS GAME SIMULATING BOWLING Filed April 14, 1964 l N VEN TOR. 05cm; f.TACK.

wzx q KM 3,306,615 TOSS GAME SIMULATING BOWLING Oscar F. Tack, 2919Drexel, Detroit, Mich. 48215 Filed Apr. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 359,648 2Claims. (Cl. 273-95) This invention relates generally to games and moreparticularly to toss games of skill for children.

It is an object of the invention to provide a game for children whichinvolves skill and to some extent is educational in the matter ofcounting the score.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved gameparticularly for children and based on the well known or conventionalten pin bowling game.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved ten pinbowling game so conceived as to place it in that class of inexpensivegames known as box games in which the entire game is played within thegame containing box.

In connection with the next preceding object, it is an object of theinvention to provide an inexpensive bowling game for children in whichthe conventional alley or lane is eliminated.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of certain pieces of the game, and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, the game includes abox 10 having a cover 12, the box and its cover being inexpensively madeof cardboard. The box 10 has a bottom wall 14, front wall 16, rear wall18 and side walls 20. Preferably, the box cover 12 is made integral withthe rear wall 18 and is bendable along line 22, as a hinge. As shown inFIG. 1, the box cover 12 is raised to a position at right angles to thebox to provide a back stop and the cover may be held in this position byany suitable means such as the screw 24, washer 26 and wing nut 28. Ifdesired, corner braces 30 having relatively right angle ends may be usedand held in place by the screws to locate the cover at right angles tothe box.

Positioned within the box 10 there is a triangular receiver formed bysides 32 and 34 and by a medial portion 36 of the box rear wall 22. Thesides 32 and 34 of the receiver may be of the same height as the depthof the box, as shown, or may be somewhat less than the depth of the box,as desired. To attach the sides 32 and 34 of the receiver to the box 10,the sides may be formed with lower flanges 38 and end flanges 39 whichmay be secured respectively to the bottom and rear of the box by cementor staples.

The sides 32 and 34 of the receiver divide the box 10 into a relativelylarge no count area 14 and a relatively small triangular count area 40.The sides 32, 34 and the medial portion 36 of the box rear wall define areceiver which is representative of the outline or area of ten pins, asset in the conventional ten pin bowling game. In addition, the gameincludes ten count pieces 42 which represent the ten pins of theconventional bowling game. A stack of the pieces 42 is shown in FIG. 2as being flat discs, and in the interests of economy of manufacture,

/United States Patent lCe the discs may be three quarter inch washers,as represented in FIG. 3.

In playing the game, the player takes all ten of the pin-representingdiscs 42 in one hand and tosses them together toward the triangularcount area 40. A target 44 on the cover back stop is provided for theplayer as a guide and is located directly above the triangular countarea 40. The target 44 is printed on the underside of the cover andpreferably comprises a likeness of ten pins set in the conventionaltriangular formation of the conventional bowling game. If the tosseddiscs all remain Within the confines of the triangle area 40, it iscounted as a strike, using the same system of scoring established forthe conventional bowling game. Accordingly, a spare would be recordedWhere only some of the discs remain within the triangular area 40 on thefirst toss and the player is successful in getting the remainder of thediscs within the triangle on the second toss. Of course, if none of thediscs remain in the triangular area 40, this would be the equivalent ofthe situation in conventional bowling where the ball completely missesthe pins, such as a so called gutter ball, and no count would berecorded by the player for this toss, but if all ten discs are tossedinto the remain within the triangular receiver on the second turn, theplayer would receive the benefit of a spare count as in conventional tenpin bowling.

In the triangular side member 32, a cutaway portion of the lower edgethereof near the rear wall 18 provides an opening 46 for passage of thediscs 42 from the triangular area 40 to the no count area 14 by tiltingthe box. Also, an opening 48 is provided in the box front wall 16adjacent one of the front corners so that all ten of the discs 42 may bereadily retrieved by tilting the box toward the said corner.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that I haveprovided an improved game of skill which is particularly entertainingboth for small children and adults and one which is inexpensive tomanufacture. It will further be appreciated that the herein describedgame has many of the aspects of a conventional bowling game without theneed of the large alley or lane area of the conventional game yetrequires a degree of skill and training in the keeping of the score.

While I have shown and described my game and its structure in detail, itwill be understood that many variations and changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A game of skill comprising a box, an upright backstop memberextending upwardly from one side of said box, a pair of side memberswithin said box cooperating with a medial portion of the said one sideof said box to define a triangular enclosure, said enclosure dividingthe interior of said box into a triangular count zone and a relativelylarger no-count zone, said triangular enclosure representative of theoutline of set ten pins, ten count pieces representative of ten pins andto be tossed collectively into the count zone, and an outlet in one sideof the triangular structure for passage of the count pieces to theno-count zone by tilting of the box.

2. A game of skill comprising a box, an upright back stop memberextending upwardly from one side of said box, a pair of side memberswithin said box cooperating with a medial portion of the said one sideof said box to define a triangular enclosure, said enclosure dividingthe 0 interior of said box into a triangular count zone and a relativelylarger no-count zone, said triangular enclosure representative of theoutline of set ten pins, ten discs representative of ten pins and to betossed collectively into the count zone, an outlet in one side of thetriangular structure for passage of the discs to the no-count zone bytilting of the box, and an outlet in one side of said box for passage ofsaid discs out of said box by tilting the latter.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1924 Skreberg273-95 8/1943 Hoover 273-105 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primaly Examiner. M. R.PAGE, Assistant Examiner.

1. A GAME OF SKILL COMPRISING A BOX, AN UPRIGHT BACKSTOP MEMBEREXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID BOX, A PAIR OF SIDE MEMBERSWITHIN SAID BOX COOPERATING WITH A MEDIAL PORTION OF THE SAID ONE SIDEOF SAID BOX TO DEFINE A TRIANGULAR ENCLOSURE, SAID ENCLOSURE DIVIDINGTHE INTERIOR OF SAID BOX INTO A TRIANGULAR COUNT ZONE AND A RELATIVELYLARGER NO-COUNT ZONE, SAID TRIANGULAR ENCLOSURE REPRESENTATIVE OF THEOUTLINE OF SET TEN PINS, TEN COUNT PIECES REPRESENTATIVE OF TEN PINS ANDTO BE TOSSED COLLECTIVELY INTO THE COUNT ZONE, AND AN OUTLET IN ONE SIDEOF THE TRIANGULAR STRUCTURE FOR PASSAGE OF THE COUNT PIECES TO THENO-COUNT ZONE BY TILTING OF THE BOX.